Improvement in horse hay-forks



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY L. SHEPERD, OF O-SBORN, OHIO.

IMPROYENIENTIN HORSE HAY-FORKS.

Speeitication forming part of" Letters Patent No. 80,513, dated July 28,1868.

To all whom it may conce/ru:

Be it known that I, HENRY L. SHEPERD, of Osborn, in the countyofGreene,and in the State of Ohio, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Horse Hay-Forks; and do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the aocompanyin g drawings, and to the letters of referencemarked thereon.

The nature of my invention consists in the manner of construetin g ahayfork with movable arms attached to the points for the purpose ofraising or lowering the same, and in the manner of securing these armsso that the points may remain raised by means of hooks and leversarranged on the upper part of the fork.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to make and use myinvention,I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation,referring to the annexed drawings, which form a part of thisspecification, and in which- Figure l is a front view, and Figs. 2 and 3are side views.

A A represent two side bars, connected at their upper end by thecross-bar B, and have at their lower end the points C C pivoted to them.

D represents a frame, forming bearings on the cross-bar B, on the insideof and near to the side bars. At the outside and at the top of the sidebars the levers E E are pivoted and connected at their lower end withthe points C C by means of the connecting-bars F F, which bars arepivoted on the inside of the levers and the rear side of the points insuch a manner that they will, when operated on by the levers, turn thepoints downward, thus forming, with the side bars A A, complete tinesfor the hay-fork, and they will of their own weight bea-r on the pointsto turn them in proper position for holding the hay when ready forhoisting'.

The upper parts of the levers E E are provided with hooks b b, whichclose :around the sides of the frame D and are held there, when the hayis being raised, by means of lugs o c on the levers G G, which arepivoted on the sides of the frame, the lugs extending beyond the frameinto the hooks, and being so beveled that the hooks will close of theirown weight and ot' the weight of the connecting bars without assistancefrom the operator. The spring a, fastening' the inner ends of the leversG G to the frame D,`holds the lugs in their proper position.

Vhen it is desired to lower the points C C, a string or rope attached tothe inner ends of the levers G G will release the hooks from the sidesof the frame, thus allowing the levers E E to raise the connecting-barsand lower the points for insertion into the hay.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of the side bar A, connecting-bar F, point C, andlever E, when constructed and operating as and for the pnrposes hereinset forth.

2. The combination of the lever E with hook b, and lever G with lug c,when constructed and operatin g as and for the purposes herein setforth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand andseal this 14th day of May,1868.

HENRY L. SHEPERD. [1.. s]

Witnesses .Mams W. SMITH, EDWIN PARKER.

